


Boring and Pointless

by medomai



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-03
Updated: 2013-11-03
Packaged: 2017-12-31 09:52:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1030282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/medomai/pseuds/medomai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Distant from his friends, Aang is dissatisfied with his life. He runs into an old acquaintance and finds that someone understands exactly how he feels. Written for atla_crackfic @ LJ.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boring and Pointless

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a pinch hitter for an exchange at atla_crackfic.livejournal.com. This is a first draft and un-beta'd, so I'm a bit embarrassed that I released it to the public like this. At the same time, I do like how some of it came out, so here we are. I'd like to come back to this and expand on it, as it's less actually a pairing fic the way it is now and more pre-relationship; how they came to become more like friends than people who just sort of acknowledge the other's existence.

For years after the war, Aang was an honoured guest in the Fire Nation. He visited as often as he could, which meant once a month some years, sometimes not even once a year. Zuko understood. Avatar business meant Aang had places to be all the time. But for special occasions, Aang made an extra effort.

“Aang?” 

Aang jumped and whirled around, crumpling the invitation he held in his hands. “Whoa!”

Suki was walking towards him, her hands upraised in a placating gesture. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Suki!” crowed Aang. He swept her into a hug, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in return. 

“Aang, it’s so good to see you,” she said after they pulled apart. “It’s been so long since any of us have seen you. The last I heard, you were off settling yet another border dispute with one of the colonies.”

“Uh, yeah. Luckily, Kuei didn’t have to get involved this time,” said Aang, ducking his head.

“Well, it’s good to see you,” she said. “How long will you be staying here?”

“After the banquet?” asked Aang. “Um, well, I’m not sure. A day or so, maybe, but I was going to make my round of the northern waters right away, see Chief Arnook, Teo, all of them...”

“Hm,” said Suki. “Well, make sure you say hello to everybody. I think the last time the last time any of us got to really visit with you at the Peace Celebration some months back. And the entire party was taken over by you and Sokka nearly killing the Unagi trying to make better fireworks.”

“That long ago?” said Aang, trying and failing to hide a grin. “I’ll be sure to say hello to Sokka and the rest.”

“Speaking of, I’ve got to go,” said Suki. “I left Sokka taking care of Ayla, and I don’t think he’s quite got the hang of how to get her to stop crying yet.”

“Alright.”

They hugged again briefly, and then Suki . After she had gone, Aang let out a breath and looked down at his hands. “Aw, man!” He hastily tried to smooth out his now-crumpled invitation to Zuko’s birthday without much success. He eventually just tucked it back into his sleeve with another sigh. 

Knowing that there wasn’t much to do for a few hours at least (seeing the others could wait), Aang opened the wings of his glider and took off with a running start. _Zuko won’t mind if I explore the palace grounds a little..._

He flew over several different gardens within the palace walls before deciding on a section closer to the outskirts, one with more trees than flowers. He landed almost silently, and his glider became his staff again. “It’s so peaceful here,” he murmured. Aang saw the perfect spot, and smiled.

\---

Mai followed the path to the outer gardens, trying to kill time until dinner. The actual birthday banquet for Zuko was days away, but guests were privileged with meals hosted by the Fire Lord in pre-banquet banquets leading up to the real thing. She wasn’t under any official pressure to be in attendance, but being friends with many of the people there meant Mai was obligated to show up and make nice. That, and she had long since succumbed to Ty Lee’s deer-puppy eyes. 

The outer gardens were a beautiful, measured mess of forest and flowerbeds. Mai took it in with a look and decided it would do. There was a bench by the path, meant for those who would rest and enjoy the view. She sat down, closing her eyes. 

The whisper of approaching footsteps had her opening her eyes again, frowning. The sound was coming from the direction of the wall, through the underbrush; whoever it was ignoring the path. 

Within seconds, the Avatar had emerged onto the path, eyebrows raised in an expression of interest, if not surprise.

“Mai?” he said. “I - what are you doing here?”

Mai lifted an eyebrow in response. “Sitting,” she responded dryly. “Is it upsetting the balance of the elements?”

The Avatar flushed. “No, I meant it like - why aren’t you with Zuko?”

Ah, Zuko hadn’t passed that around yet. She couldn’t decide if it was flattering that he wasn’t gossiping or irritating that now she had to explain it. So she shrugged.

“Okay...” said the boy Avatar. He gestured to the bench. “Do you mind if I sit with you?”

“...Sure.”

Mai didn’t know what it was about the Avatar, but she couldn’t ignore him now that he was sitting right on the edge of her vision. The yellow and red of his robes weren’t as eye-gougingly bright as when he’d ended the war years ago, but still colourful enough to grab attention. His staff was resting in the crook of his elbow. He wasn’t trying to make eye contact or engage her in any way, he was just looking out at the woods like they were especially interesting. Mai closed her eyes.

It was quiet for a few minutes.

“I don’t really want to be up there with everyone else, either.” His voice was quiet, not grating, not cheery.

With her eyes still closed, Mai could hear the crinkle of paper, the Avatar smoothing his hands over it. 

“I wasn’t even going to come.” He sighed, a little bit of sadness escaping with his breath. “A twenty-third birthday isn’t that big a deal. Zuko would’ve understood. Been disappointed, maybe, if he wasn’t remembering Momo chasing a dragonfly over the table at his last birthday.”

Mai’s lips twitched at the memory of Zuko drenched in tea and a lemur on his head before she checked herself.

“I don’t know what I’ll do for my twentieth. It’s a big milestone, apparently, but I have no idea how an Avatar has a big celebration. Toph will probably host something, if Zuko doesn’t take that away from her. Well, he couldn’t unless she let him, because nobody can really tell Toph what to do, and if she wants to host an Avatar’s birthday, that’s what’s going to happen.”

Mai opened her eyes and turned to the Avatar. He didn’t seem to paying attention to her, sprawled out and content to just speak with someone listening. He’d grown a few inches since she’d last seen him; he might even be taller than Zuko now. 

“Don’t your friends call you Aang?” she asked.

The Avatar’s head rolled towards her, seemingly surprised at the question. “Huh?”

“Your friends,” Mai said, annoyed at having to repeat herself. “They call you the Avatar, and not by your name?”

He frowned. “No, they call me Aang.”

“Hm.”

“What’s ‘hm’?” he asked, sitting up straight. “Your question doesn’t make any sense.”

“You seem to think it will be an Avatar’s birthday, not yours,” said Mai. “I was under the impression you meant more to your friends than that.”

“I do,” said the Avatar, looking a little hurt and a lot confused. “What gave you that idea?”

“Forget it,” said Mai, letting her impatience bleed into her voice.

The Avatar’s mouth tightened. He acquiesced, sliding back into his slouch and fidgeting with the paper she now saw was his invitation to the banquet.

A few minutes passed.

“If it’s not your friends, then it’s just you who sees yourself as the Avatar. Birthday parties are for humans, not for the ‘Spirit of the World.’”

He was silent. They both sat quietly, letting time while away. Mai waited for a response for a few moments, and sensing nothing more from the monk, turned to her own thoughts. 

She soon found her own thoughts drifting back to the one beside her. Grudgingly she admitted to herself that since she had only come out to the gardens to stave off boredom, spending thought on the Avatar was hardly wasting time. The alternative was throwing knives at the trees, and the groundskeepers had given official reprimands more than once for that.

Though he was sitting quite still, the Avatar radiated the vibe of fidgeting. She watched as he tucked the invitation away, very carefully interlaced his fingers, and stared out into the surrounding foliage. His eyes traced the flight of birds above the treetops, stared at the clouds coloured orange by sunset over the wall, slowly drifted over the flowers by the path. 

Then his eyes roved to the side and met hers. Mai wasn’t the least embarrassed by being caught in the act; she’d be concerned if his situational awareness didn’t tip him off to her watching.

“What?” he asked.

“I don’t usually have the Avatar to accompany me in my boredom,” she deadpanned.

The Avatar rolled his eyes, an act of sarcasm she wasn’t expecting, but he quickly smiled. “Weren’t you just talking about calling myself by name...?” He rolled his shoulders and stood up. “So you should call me Aang, too.”

“Leaving?” 

“Er, yeah,” he said, picking up his staff. “We’ve been here a while, I think they’ll be eating soon. Coming?”

Mai shrugged. “Sure.”

She stood up and he promptly offered his arm. She continued like she hadn’t seen it. The Avatar hummed softly and matched her stride, walking beside her all the way to the palace.

\---

Dinner that night was everything Aang had feared, and worse. Everyone he hadn’t seen in months had the same reaction upon seeing him. Though he was honestly happy to see everyone, the venue wasn’t right for any intimate reunions and conversations were interrupted by the itinerary.

Sitting down, Aang returned a warm smile from Katara across the table. Being the Avatar, he had Zuko’s right-hand seat. Unlike years past, Sokka was no longer placed next to him, proving that someone was paying attention to patterns. Instead, by some coincidence, it was Mai who was sitting beside him for dinner.

He smiled at her as she sat down, not bothered when she didn’t respond. After Zuko sat down and dinner was served, Aang was struck with the novelty of having someone actively not paying attention to him. It was weird.

“So, Zuko, any trouble with border disputes lately...?” Aang managed to get out having to talk by getting Zuko to vent about cranky advisors, a topic which he knew could fill hours if he made himself look sympathetic enough. 

As dessert was drawing to a natural close, Aang waved over a servant for fruit tarts, setting two down by his rice bowl. He kept nodding as Zuko talked (now lamenting pushy governors who didn’t understand resources were limited) as he savoured his sweets. 

“Absolutely,” he agreed with Zuko, and reached for the second tart. His hand met nothing. Aang glanced at the table to make sure it was missing, and avoiding looking anywhere close to Mai, waved the servant over again. He asked for two again, picking up one and shifting the other to the right with a small flick of his finger.

A few minutes later, it was missing, and Aang felt satisfaction bloom in his chest. When Zuko’s ranting was spent, Aang looked over his shoulder, but Mai had already left.

When he looked back, Zuko was giving him a loaded stare, one that said, _okay, if you’re sure about this_. Aang gave him a look back that said, what are you talking about? 

Zuko sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “She likes knives, too.”

“...O-kay...” said Aang, thoroughly confused. 

“Forget it,” said Zuko in a tone that said, _you’re an idiot_. 

Aang tamped down on his first response and decided that Fire Nation aristocracy were naturally irritable. “Alright, then. Is there going to be dancing?”

“Not tonight,” said Zuko. “On my birthday.”

“Okay,” said Aang. “I guess I’ll see you around, then.”

Zuko grunted.

Aang left the hall, leaping out of the first open window, and gliding up to the roof. The night breeze was cool and pleasant; Aang leaned into it, closing his eyes. He thought about fruit tarts.

\---

The next morning, Aang was outside of Mai’s front door, pointed in this direction by a helpful palace servant. He filled the minutes spinning his staff in a deceptively simple pattern. He looked up as the door opened, and his staff stopped against the floor with a click.

Mai closed the door behind her and looked at him. Her confusion wasn’t mixed with anything like irritation, so Aang took that as a good sign. “Um. Hey.”

“Hello.”

“Uh, have you, er, had breakfast yet?” he asked.

“Yes.” She was really staring now, although the blatant confusion had faded into that uninterested look she seemed to regard everything with.

“Oh,” he said, disappointed and not really sure why. Gamely, he kept going. “Well, there’s nothing to do at the palace, not until tonight when Toph and her gang show up, so I was hoping you might know something to do...?”

She stood there, standing outside her front door, totally unmoving. Aang was starting to regret asking when she sighed quietly and started walking down her steps. 

“Not really,” she said. 

Aang felt the weight of being measured and dissected by her gaze. “O-oh, okay. Well, what were you going to do?”

She ignored the question, only kept studying him.

“I’ll leave, then,” he offered, but she spoke.

“What would you like to see?”

“Oh, uh, I didn’t exactly have anything in mind,” he said quickly, “although I haven’t eaten yet...” He trailed off uncertainly, but she started walking towards the city. 

“Come on, then,” she said. “Breakfast shouldn’t be too hard to scrounge up.”

Aang couldn’t keep the grin off of his face, and he trotted to catch up. They started walking, dutifully greeting passerbys who recognized the Avatar and Lady Mai. “So do you go into the city often?” he asked.

Mai hmmed. “Here and there. Not often, no.”

“So were you coming here just today?” he asked.

She glanced at him from the side before looking forward again. “Why so curious?”

“Oh, just making conversation to fill the walk,” he said lightly. “I know you know I can be quiet, so I can stop talking if it bothers you.”

Mai pursed her lips, then shook her head. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“Really?” Aang was a bit skeptical. “Because I thought you were kind of irritated at me yesterday in the garden. It seemed like I was ruining your moment, though you were pretty nice about it.”

“Nice?” She turned to him with both eyebrows raised. “That’s not how people usually tell it.”

“That you’re nice?” Aang was confused. “But you are. I mean, you don’t talk a lot, and you’re grumpy a lot of the time, but that doesn’t mean you’re not nice.”

Her expression cooled and Aang belatedly realized he might have said something wrong. “Not that being grumpy is a bad thing...!”

“Nice,” Mai repeated. “Why am I nice?”

“Oh, er...” Aang tilted his head up, trying to think. “Well, for example, yesterday in the garden, I just started talking to you, and I didn’t even ask if you wanted to hear about my problems, but you listened and helped out anyway.”

“Anything else?”

Aang laughed nervously and lifted a hand to his neck. “You agreed to help me find something to eat?”

“I suppose so.” Suddenly disinterest radiated from Mai in waves. Aang’s hand dropped back down to his side and he resisted fidgeting as they walked down the street. 

“There.” Mai pointed and Aang followed the line of sight to the building on the corner. “They serve breakfast.”

“Great!” cheered Aang. “Come on.” 

\---

“Ugh.”

Mai closed her front door, holding her hand over her eyes. The entire day had been an endless series of being dragged around her own city, with a man-child who apparently had no limit to ways to waste his time. Finding the best meatless dumplings in the city, seeing the decorations go up for Zuko’s birthday, watching street performers do pretty tricks with fire, all of it. 

Throughout the day, she’d been tempted to end it with the excuse of previous business, but the truth was she had none. She could have lied, of course, but if it ever came out that she’d lied to the Avatar... Well, it could hurt relations.

She had made no effort to hide her boredom throughout the day, but he never seemed to catch on. In addition, the Avatar never tried to get her to accept any food or object, so she couldn’t refuse anything to make it clear. 

“Mai?” Her mother was standing right there in the hall, likely on her way out for the evening.

“Yes, Mother?”

Stopping in front of Mai, her mother looked her up and down. “Well, I hear you had an entertaining day out. Good of you to be thinking politics around the Fire Lord’s celebrations. Sorry to leave you mid-conversation, but I’m already late, I’m meeting your father by the gates. Good night, Mai.”

Mai nodded mutely, and let her pass. 

Back in her room, she flopped on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Even if it wasn’t how she would like to spend a day, it was hardly a bad idea doing the Avatar a favour. Not a bad idea at all.

Dinner at the palace was exceedingly boring. She ended up in the same spot, but the Avatar didn’t make an appearance that night. Toph Bei Fong took his chair instead and ended up being the star of the evening. 

“Hey, do you know where Twinkletoes is?” Bei Fong asked her in a lull between her stories of earthebenders who couldn’t bend metal if it was made of parchment.

Mai shrugged, but couldn’t resist, “Twinkletoes?”

The master earthbender waved a hand negligently. “When I first met him, his heels barely touched the floor. Since I started teaching him, he’s much more grounded.” (Mai ignored the Water Tribe boy running around behind her to highfive Bei Fong for that.)

“I see.”

\---

Aang didn’t mean to skip supper that night. He went out flying with Appa, and lost track of the time. When he ran into the dinner hall and saw only servants cleaning up the enormous table, his shoulders dipped in embarrassment. What did everyone think of his absence? 

He wandered through the palace, looking for the kitchen. He saw no one he recognized, only passing nobles that bowed respectfully when they passed. 

Aang admitted defeat after half an hour of searching. The kitchen was apparently at the end of an extremely cruel labyrinth. Everyone had either gone to bed for the night or had taken their party somewhere else. What could he do?

Without thinking too hard about it, Aang had left the palace and was in front of Mai’s manor again. Swallowing his shyness, he resolved to just ask for a quick snack and leave; Mai didn’t even have to know he’d dropped by.

It still took him a few minutes to knock on the door.

“The Avatar!” The doorman quickly recovered and bowed. “Please come in, you honour us with your presence.”

“Hi, I’m just looking for, um - ” Aang couldn’t get his request out before the doorman politely answered. 

“Yes, I’ll send for Lady Mai right away.” 

Aang didn’t know how to say he was only looking for food, so he nodded stiffly and resolved to wait in the foyer. A second servant walked in with a bow. “Is there anything I can get you?”

“Uh, yes, please, could I have some tea and something to eat?”

Great, so he’d apologize to Mai for the misunderstanding and get something to eat, everything was on the up and up.

“Avatar?”

Aang whirled around to see Mai standing there with her arms crossed and an unreadable look on her face. 

“Whoa!” He spent a quick moment wondering if he should stay where he was or move closer, but at a second glance at her, decided across the room was fine. “Uh, hi?”

“What are you doing here?” Mai uncrossed her arms and walked over to him.

Aang chuckled nervously. “Well, this is going to sound really stupid, but I missed supper at the palace by accident and I’m pretty hungry, so - ”

“You came here to get fed,” said Mai flatly.

There was an uncomfortable silence. 

“Kind of?” offered Aang.

The stare she gave him then was so unimpressed that Aang had to backpedal. “So, er, thanks for hanging out with me today. Did you have a good time?”

“Not really,” said Mai.

“Oh.” Aang looked down, feeling like he had to keep this conversation going for as long as possible. “I’m sorry about that. I did have fun, but I’ll make sure to make sure you’re interested next time - uh, assuming there actually is a next time, I don’t know, you probably don’t - ”

“No, forget I said that,” interrupted Mai, lifting a hand to press against her temple. “I’ve seen those things growing up already. They weren’t new to me like they were to you. I’ve done those things many times opposed to it being your first time in the city.”

That didn’t make him feel better. “So, you were... bored?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. Okay. So - ”

Just then a servant walked in with a meal on a tray. “Avatar.” With a bow, he set the tray on a table and returned the way he had come.

Aang paused, caught in the middle. Get the tray or keep struggling to think of something not-awkward to say?

“So, what do you do to entertain yourself, then?” he challenged. Perfect, this was exactly the tone he wanted to use with a Fire Nation noble he barely knew.

Mai narrowed her eyes. "Do you really care to know or are you just trying to make up for something?”

If Aang had learned anything from Toph, it was that he could be really, really stubborn. “Yes, I do care. I’m very interested to know how you keep from imploding with boredom all day long. If today wasn’t very interesting, then I’m obviously missing out on something really amazing and I want to know what it is.”

Mai tilted her head for a moment. Abruptly she spun on the spot and started walking away. “Fine. Come on, and bring the tray.” 

“Great!” Aang grabbed the tray and tried to catch up without spilling anything. “Where are we going?”

“Prepare for disappointment.”

“Uhh, okay...?” 

Mai led him to a small, out-of-the-way room that seemed to be used to entertain guests. She sat down on a chair around a table. Aang put the tray down and settled on the couch opposite of her. 

“Do you mind if I...?” Aang gestured at the food, and leaped for the chopsticks when she waved her hand disinterestedly. 

He had been eating in silence for a couple minutes before it occurred to him this was weird. Mai wasn’t saying anything, she wasn’t even looking at him, just sitting unnaturally still with no expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” he tentatively asked.

“Nothing’s wrong,” answered Mai, still not looking at him.

Aang swallowed his mouthful and set the chopsticks down. “You know... I don’t think you’ve called me by my name once.”

“Is that so?”

“Yep,” said Aang. Fighting his impulse to fidget, he forced himself to lean back as if relaxed and not at all weirded out by this impromptu supper. “Even though you were the one who said you should.”

She finally met his eyes, and he was pleased to see her being even a little attentive. “I didn’t say anything like that.” He hoped. 

“But will you?” he insisted.

“Will I say that I should?”

“Will you call me by name.”

“Hm.” Mai shrugged. “If that makes you happy.”

“Okay, great!” He sat up. “So, what do you do in here that’s so exciting?”

“Oh, there’s nothing in here specifically,” said Mai, looking around. “But I can do what I do in here as easily as any other place.”

“Which is what?” asked Aang, nonplussed. 

“What we’re doing now,” said Mai, seeming to finally sit up straight even though her posture had been impeccable the entire time. “You’re a person in the manor, and you’re talking to me. I don’t do that much.”

Aang tried to wrap his head around that. “So, the way you stop being bored is by... talking to people who come into your house?”

“I suppose that’s a way of putting it.”

“That’s it? That’s all you do all day?”

“Of course not,” said Mai. (Aang ignored the implied rolled eyes.) “There are a lot of activities I do, but they don’t stop me from being bored. They’re a way that I can pretend I’m not bored.”

“Is it because you do the same stuff everyday? I get that. I would go crazy if I had to spend all day, every day in the same house doing the same things.”

Mai sighed. “I guess it is that.”

“‘Cause you didn’t seem bored when I saw you w - before.” 

“When I was with Azula fighting you and your friends?” Mai’s lazy gaze turned sharp all of a sudden. “I guess traveling with someone like her and fighting people like you is a good time.”

“So you like fighting?” Aang reached up to scratch his chin. “Well, I don’t agree with that, I think peace is the way to go... But now that I know, did you want to spar? For practice?”

She closed her eyes briefly. “...Maybe later,” dismissed Mai. She set her hands down on the table and it seemed very purposeful to Aang. “But right now, I would like to know something.”

“Sure,” said Aang.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

“Doing what?” he asked slowly.

“Why are you coming to my house to get a meal when any of Zuko’s servants would be happy to do the same? Why come to my house to look for someone to drag around a city I grew up in? Why sit next to me in a garden?” 

She didn’t look unhappy and that was the only thing saving Aang from freezing like a deer-rabbit in front of a viper-lynx. And he knew he absolutely couldn’t say that he didn’t know why.

“Today wasn’t the first time I did all those things in the city,” he said instead. She didn’t seem to know what to say to that, or if she did, she wasn’t letting on. So he continued. “I end up searching the entire city for dumplings without meat every single time I visit. Usually there’s a festival when I drop by, so I find some firebending performances a lot. Same with decorations, they’re different in some way every time.” Aang spread his hands, trying to get her to understand. “Although, breakfast was a new one, but I’ll probably go there again tomorrow. Next time I leave and come back, I’ll probably go there again for breakfast unless they close.”

“I don’t understand your point,” said Mai.

“I mean, I can get bored, but it’s not the activities that I can’t stand, it’s... It’s when you stop thinking about them, right? I can do the same activity over and over again and not get bored, because there are some things that are new every time. You’re like that.”

“I’m like some activity that never gets boring?” Mai repeated, clearly dubious.

“Yes,” said Aang, relieved something was making sense to her. “I mean, I still don’t know you that well, but there’s something new every time even though you’re the same. So, when you tell me that people should call me by my name, or steal my fruit tart at dessert, or find me a place to have breakfast... That’s all new, even though you haven’t changed.”

“...I see.” Mai was beginning to look supremely discomfited.

Aang reviewed his words in his head and paled. The more he thought about his words, the more it sounded like he was trying to court a woman who was almost in the Fire Nation’s royal line. Now Zuko’s encouragement from last night sounded less like he was trying to chivvy Aang along and more like he was giving a blessing. _Oh, spirits._

“I’m gonna go,” he blurted. He stood up, quickly punching a fist into the opposite palm for a polite bow. “Sorry for infringing on your time, Lady Mai.”

“Wait.” She stood up, looking more together, and went to stand right in front of him. “Zuko has several practice halls. Does tomorrow after breakfast work for you, Avatar?”

“Uh.” Aang stared at her, not at all sure what she meant.

“I’m sorry, I meant ‘Aang.’” He could have sworn Mai’s lips were twitching.

“For...” It clicked. “For sparring! Yes, sparring, tomorrow morning is good. So I guess I’ll just - ”

“I’ll see you out,” said Mai. She gestured, and Aang started towards the front door with her walking almost behind him.

At the door, Mai stopped. “You’ll be bored soon, I’m sure.”

“Of sparring?” said Aang, confused. “That’s what handicaps are for. It’ll be fun, though, I promise this time!”

Mai shook her head. “What if I don’t think doing things is very interesting?”

“Huh,” said Aang. He grabbed his staff as the doorman held the front doors open for him. “Well, then, I guess thanks for letting me try to prove you wrong.”

“Good night,” she said, and she was almost - _almost_ \- smiling.

“Good night,” Aang echoed. When he left, he waited until the doors were closed before he took off. Without meaning to, Aang caught himself smiling. 

Suddenly feeling more determined than ever, he flew over the city looking for friends that he knew were still awake. He had a lot of catching up to do.


End file.
